I arrived in Charlotte early enough to do a little train watching.  I went up to Kannapolis for awhile and had a great morning.  When I was here in 2007 I was a few days too early to ride the new light rail system, Lynx.  So, this time I made sure to check it out.  I rode from the outermost station all the way downtown, and back.  It is very nice and sure beats driving downtown.

The last time I was in Charlotte was for the three shows in October 2007.  This was only a single show but I had a Meet & Greet pass this time.  Actually I had two since PBS sells them in pairs.  I had tried to sell it on the forums but got no takers.

When I arrived at the theater, I hung around outside to meet John, a forum member that I had met the last time I was here.  After getting reacquainted, he mentioned that he knew someone who was coming that just might be interested in my extra ticket.  Hannah is a young girl who was at the previous shows, too, but had never had the opportunity to meet the girls.  She was with her parents and since my ticket was about to turn in to a pumpkin anyway I offered it to her.  She (obviously!) accepted it and was excited to not only be in the fourth row but to actually get to meet 2 of the Celtic women.  Her excellent review is here.

I sat next to the Timersons (Brad’s review is here)  and, of course, Hannah.  John and his wife were a few rows up since they had pledged sooner than I had.  The Ovens Theater is an excellent venue with good sound and the show was excellent.  Both Alex and Lisa have changed their hair (Alex more-so than Lisa), and Máiréad has added a few more flourishes near the end of Shenandoah to spice it up a little.  She was still wearing a bandage on her right leg but it had no apparent effect on her performance.  She did 9 spins near the end of Coast of Galicia, a near record.  A fabulous show, as usual, although we forum members had to start a few of the standing ovations.  Withdrawal symptoms are slowly receding.  I was excited, though, for my first meet and greet since March.

After the show they led us to a room on the balcony level where they had light refreshments to keep us occupied until the girls changed out of their show gowns into their M&G ones.  Chloë and Lynn came out and took their seats.  We hung around so we would be close to the end of the line.  Hannah was extremely nervous but John and I assured her she would be OK.  Chloë is a joy to talk to and makes you feel so at ease.  I don’t think Lynn is quite used to the M&G thing yet and seemed a little shy.  In her case it’s up to the fan to make her feel at ease!  Since I had already gotten most everything I wanted signed for myself in the spring, I just had a few things that I was getting signed for some friends.  Chloë remembered me and we had a nice little chat.  As usual, it was over far too quickly.  I said goodbye to Hannah, John, and Brad and headed back to my hotel.

Tomorrow is a day off in Roanoke and is all about trains!